Inside the vestibule, we encounter a veritable dumping ground of mish mash and pish posh with little rhyme or reason, almost as if the author tossed a bunch of unrelated thoughts into the air and allowed the hodge podge and hoi polloi to descend and settle willy nilly into disordered and discordant chaos and disarray.

Like so much falderal and fiddle dee dee.

If a post leaves me befuddled (because “the point” of the post is M.I.A.), I leave the pointless post, post haste.

Of course, the opposite also occurs.

On occasion, we stumble across a blog title so dumpy or frumpy that we lower our expectations before stepping across the threshold.

Why step inside at all?

Curiosity, perhaps. Or maybe the slim reed of hope that the dowdy exterior, like an oyster shell, houses a pearl of wisdom.

Sometimes, despite the gloomy interior heralded on the marquee, intrepid visitors are rewarded.

Instead of finding a warren of empty rooms, we encounter a brilliant flash of light as a veritable palace of jewels and gems opens before us.

What a delight when valuable insight awaits those who venture past a dingy signpost outside.

Aah . . . that’s better!

“Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” ~ Forest Gump

The blogs I follow are fine on both counts ~ exterior curb appeal and feng shui interiors.

But when I venture “farther afield” (as I did after Robin Williams died) I am amazed by blog titles that promise one thing while delivering another. Or nothing at all. I don’t care for false advertising and I want a return on my investment of time.

Which brings up a question for me, something I’ve been struggling with. There are some bloggers who are very supportive with visits and comments that I want to (and do) reciprocate – but at times it’s painful to find something to say about content that is…light. What are your thoughts on this?

WP didn’t alert me to your response, but I just did a fly by on the hunch you had responded, and… you did! And…that’s exactly what I meant. Thanks for providing some validation that sometimes it’s okay to just stop reading if the content is consistently of the variety that doesn’t resonate. Merci, NH!

ps I wasn’t able to reply inline to your actual response. Probably a glitch with the WP app on my phone. Cheers!

Our worlds of blog, between “Here you leave today, and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy”, (thank you Mr Disney), and “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” (poor Dante). Please, pass the chocolates!

I have such title issues – but more importantly, I’m positive that my blog is a mish-mash of ideas that were tossed from my head and landed on your screen! Too often does my blog post end up like that! 🙂
Having said that – I do love finding the hidden gem in others blogs!

The mish mash posts I’m talking about are those that are trying to “prove a point.” Instead of building on their thoughts (from A to B to C), they bounce around, zig-zagging back and forth like a shadow boxer. Or they repeat somethings ad nauseum while leaving out key points essential to their position.

Then, after meandering here and there for what seems an eternity, they STOP short, without warning, leaving unfulfilled promises in their wake.

I’ve totally run across those! That’s a good way to describe it! In fact, that’s exactly it – being left feeling unfulfilled! Like you sat through 1:45 min of the movie to discover there was no ending!
🙂

It’s like the internet “news” sites. I’m often lured by a title that sounds very intriguing only to find the stupidest non-story that I could imagine. Some of those writers are actually getting paid for the crap they churn out.

Love Forrest Gump…makes me cry every time. ..bitter sweet tears 🙂
Well..never judge a blog by it’s title, I guess 😉
I’m horrible at coming up with good titles. I just “write” my blog with what I want to say…in my own way and title it as “creatively” as I can, which isn’t too creative, then let it go. Learning to let it go with love now…not so much fear of what others may think.

Titles often draw in new readers. As long as a title isn’t horrible enough to scare readers away, it’s no biggie.

I’ve never “wasted time” reading or trying to decipher a “bad title.” I have wasted time wading through poorly written blog posts where the writer got bogged down in extraneous details (weeds) without ever planting real seeds.

As for other bloggers – I find if I go to a post and spend however many minutes reading it and rereading it and rereading it I get very frustrated. I struggle sometimes and think ‘what is the point?!’ and if this happens a few times I stop visiting that blogger altogether. I guess it comes from years of working as a communications manager. Get to the point, I say!

But I love your posts. Always entertaining, full of wisdom and intruiging titles 😀

If we keep writing enticing titles and even displaying beautiful photos without good content to match, I think readers will desert us eventually. But good content without an interesting title . . . Finding that balance, is worth working on.

Okay, I absolutely loved this, tickled me too 😀

a veritable dumping ground of mish mash and pish posh with little rhyme or reason, almost as if the author tossed a bunch of unrelated thoughts into the air and allowed the hodge podge and hoi polloi to descend and settle willy nilly into disordered and discordant chaos and disarray.

Thanks, Timi. I had fun with that paragraph. Once we’ve fallen in love with a blog’s content, we are not apt to desert it because of poorly worded titles, standing alone.

But, often, a clever title entices NEW readers to press CLICK to see if the blogger’s style clicks with their reading preferences. If we want new readers to stick around, we need to make it worth their while.

I think that titles are really tricky and I am rarely thrilled with mine. I admire those that really create a catchy and attractive title, but I have also had the experience of finding the chocolate box either empty or with a gooey center I don’t find satisfying. 🙂

Thanks, Kris. Some of my post titles are “just the facts” ~> “Bagels” or “jalapeno Cornbread.” I saw no reason to gussy them up. But some posts deserve a bit more panache when crafting their outer garment.